The Woods Theatre was a movie palace

Movie palace

A movie palace is a term used to refer to the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opened every year between 1925 and 1930.There are three building types in particular which can be subsumed...

 located at the corner of Randolph and Dearborn Streets in downtown Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

. It opened in the 1920s and was popular entertainment destination for decades. The Woods was designed in the grand style of movie palaces of the early 20th century by the firm Marshall and Fox

Marshall and Fox

Marshall and Fox was an United States architectural firm based in Chicago from 1905 to 1926. The principals, Benjamin H. Marshall and Charles E. Fox, designed a number of significant buildings of many types, in Chicago and other cities, but they were best known for luxury hotels and apartment...

, which also designed such still-extant Chicago structures as the Blackstone Theatre (later renamed the Merle Reskin Theatre

Merle Reskin Theatre

The Merle Reskin Theatre is a performing arts venue located in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. Originally named the Blackstone Theatre, it was founded in 1910. The Merle Reskin Theatre is now part of DePaul University, although it is still used for events not affiliated with the...

) and the Drake Hotel

Drake Hotel

Drake Hotel may refer to:in Canada*Drake Hotel in the United States *Drake Hotel , Illinois, listed on the NRHP*Drake Hotel , listed on the NRHP in New Mexico*Drake Hotel...

. Although it was demolished in the 1990s, it was considered for entry in the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

.

Demolition

The theatre's demolition in the 1990s was part of a controversial urban renewal project. Beginning with the demolition of the Garrick Theatre on Randolph, many of Chicago's classic theatres were demolished either because of disuse or disrepair. The Woods was located on the parcel directly northwest of the controversial Block 37, which once housed the Roosevelt and United Artists

United Artists Theatre (Chicago)

The United Artists Theatre was a popular movie theatre located in Chicago. It was constructed in 1921 and was originally titled The Apollo. It was purchased by the Balaban and Katz cinema chain and re-named in 1927. The theatre began life showing live theatre and later exclusively showed films. ...

 theatres. The site of the Woods Theatre is now occupied by the new Goodman Theatre

Goodman Theatre

The Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of Chicago theatre, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization...

 Center. Block 37 across the street sat vacant for more than fifteen years.

In popular culture

• The facade of the Woods Theatre and its marquee
  Marquee (sign)
  A marquee is most commonly a structure placed over the entrance to a hotel or theatre. It has signage stating either the name of the establishment or, in the case of theatres, the play or movie and the artist appearing at that venue...
  
   can be seen in the parade scene of the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off
  Ferris Bueller's Day Off
  Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a 1986 American teen coming-of-age comedy film written and directed by John Hughes.The film follows high school senior Ferris Bueller , who decides to skip school and spend the day in downtown Chicago...
  
  .
• The final film to be shown at the Woods was Hellraiser 3.